


Moving On (Is this Real?)

by brunetteandblond



Series: Moving On [1]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alice comes home, Drunkenness, F/F, F/M, Heartbreak, M/M, Missing Persons, Sad with a Happy Ending, getting used to life without Waverly, wynhaught friendship to the max
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-22 07:03:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16593146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brunetteandblond/pseuds/brunetteandblond
Summary: Post-season-3, Waverly and Doc are gone. And it seems like they can't come back. Wynonna and Nicole are doing what they can to find them. But Wynonna's empty and Nicole is angry. They're broken.Weeks pass. Months pass. And maybe, just maybe, they can figure out how to live on. They try to even pick up each other's broken pieces. But things don't really get better. Until they bring Alice home.





	1. How is everything so wrong?

The curse ended. Bulshar was dead. The world returned to its natural order as if nothing had ever happened. People returned to Purgatory and acted like everything was normal. They could jumpstart their ordinary lives and pretend like everything was okay (like the world wasn’t actually close to ending). The Revenants were gone. Vanished out of thin air as if they were never really there. But they weren’t the only ones that had seemed to leave the world. Waverly was dragged away to the unknown. And Doc fearlessly followed her. But despite their heroics, they hadn’t come back.

For weeks, Wynonna, Nicole, Nedley, Jeremy, and Robin worked tirelessly trying to find a way to the garden so they could get their family back. Day and night, Nicole and Wynonna would search the woods, trying to find something, _anything,_ that could help them find a way back to the people they loved and lost.

The two women didn’t sleep. Or eat. Hell, they didn’t even say any words to each other unless they had to (and that was usually when talking about what parts of the woods they had searched). They didn’t do anything besides look for and think about Waverly and Doc. And kill the occasional demon.

Wynonna even stayed sober so that she could remain functioning (debatable) at all times. She hated it. She wanted to lose herself in whiskey’s pleasantries and yet instead, she would spend her days scouring through books, notes, files, or anything that could give her a clue of how to get back to her sister. To Doc. She lost her humor, her smile, her laugh.

She became numb. A lifeless body that moved like a machine. She lived for the sake of living (she knew she couldn’t find her loved ones if she was dead). A lot of the time she forgot to take care of herself. Showers became a chore. Food became optional. Sleep became rare. Nedley and Jeremy tried to help her out of this despairing robotic cycle, but she wouldn’t let them. She told them that she’d get better when they were found. But weeks became months. And she withered away.

Nicole became angry. At Bulshar. At the garden. At Waverly. At Wynonna. At the world. She was pissed. Pissed that the world had treated her this way after everything she had gone through. When Waverly was gone, she felt like a part of herself was missing. The part that allowed her to love, empathize, and show compassion. So instead, she yelled. And screamed. And pushed everyone away. Mostly Wynonna. Because she couldn’t understand how the brunette stopped feeling. Because goddammit, Nicole was feeling everything at once. _And it wasn’t fair._

They both lived at the Homestead (Nicole stayed because she knew that if Waverly found her way back, the first place she would go to was her home), but they wouldn’t stay in the same room for longer than a minute. They couldn’t handle being around each other. Nicole was mad at her for losing Waverly. And Wynonna felt guilty. She blamed herself for what happened and knew that Nicole did the same.

Nedley eventually took back the role of Sheriff when he realized Haught wasn’t up for the job any longer. Nicole spent all of her time looking for Waverly, but on the rare occasion that she was doing her job, she was rude with every person she spoke to. Besides, if Nicole went to work, half of the time she wasn’t sober.

The curse was over. Bulshar was gone. Alice could come home. But Wynonna didn’t know what her daughter would come home to. A home with an emotionless mother, a drunk and furious aunt, and a missing aunt and father. She always saw her daughter coming home and raising her little girl with Doc and her sister (and a stable Haught). She imagined a life where she could raise her daughter in a house full of love. With two parents, aunts, uncles, and other Haught-Earp cousins she was sure would be born. She couldn’t imagine her daughter coming home now, to a broken house with a depressed family that didn’t seem to be capable of love. So she decided to wait. Until Waverly came home. When she knew the love would reappear and everything would get better. That’s what she needed.

Jeremy hurt too. Losing Dolls tore him apart, but losing both Waverly and Doc as well, it killed him. He broke apart and lost himself for a while. Much like the women, he spent every waking hour trying to find a way back to his friends. But unlike them, he had Robin, who was there to pick up the pieces. Robin wasn’t as close to the missing duo as the others were, but that didn’t stop him from trying to help. And that attempt meant the world to Jeremy.

Even amongst all the suffering, Jeremy and Robin got closer. Their bond became unbreakable. Their love was untouchable. They helped each other out of the hole that was dug when Waverly and Doc vanished. They brought each other back to themselves. And they tried to help their friends, but it was hard.

Nicole saw them and it caused her so much pain. They reminded her so much of her relationship with Waverly. It was too much for her to handle. So she tried to stay away from them as much as she could.

Wynonna supported the couple as much as she could without any feelings. She gave them fake smiles and told them how happy she was for them. All she thought about was how excited Waves would be if she could see the couple.

Jeremy and Robin could see through Wynonna’s facade. They knew that if she truly was happy, she’d be cracking crude jokes and making fun of them. Instead, she was being detached and cliche.

As much as The couple loved Nicole and Wynonna, it became hard for them to stay in Purgatory. Even though they helped kill multiple demons, they realized their purpose in Purgatory had disappeared along with Waverly and Doc. No matter how much they tried, they couldn’t help put their friends back together. As hard as they fought and researched, they couldn’t find Waverly and Doc. As much as they didn’t want it to, Purgatory stopped feeling like home.

When the months became a year, Jeremy and Robin arrived at a life changing decision. They decided to leave Purgatory and start a new life (as a married couple). They wanted kids, a small house, and safety away from demons and death. They were afraid to tell their friends, but they understood they had to.

They forced Wynonna and Nicole to eat together, as a family one last time. That night, Robin squeezed Jeremy’s hand as the man told his sisterly figures that he was leaving them. He cried as he admitted that they needed to get away from the town. He tearfully explained that he loved them more than anything but needed more than how he was living.

He was surprised by their reactions. Wynonna smiled at him and told him that she was happy that he wanted a life with Robin. She told him how happy she was that she had a friend as good as him and that she’d always be appreciative of everything he had done for her family. Their family. It was the most amount of emotion she had shown in the past year. And that made Nicole angry.

The (arguably now drunk) Nicole yelled about how Jeremy was abandoning Waverly. That he was giving up on her. And that Wynonna was just accepting it. She got up from the table and left.

Wynonna frowned and told Jeremy and Robin that the ex-Sheriff didn’t really mean it. That she was hurting and was taking it out on them. She told them how much she loved them but needed to talk to Nicole. She knew how long overdue it was.

She found Nicole chugging a bottle of whiskey in the barn. A year ago, she would have joked about this scenario. How they switched roles. But Wynonna didn’t say anything like that. Instead, she took another approach.

“It’s not their fault she’s gone, Haught,” Wynonna muttered as she approached the redhead with a deep sigh. “It’s not their fault they want to leave. They aren’t giving up on her. They are choosing to be happy. Like she would have wanted.”

Nicole snorted and snarled bitterly, “She would have wanted to be found, Earp. I can’t believe you are all giving up on her.”

“Giving up on her?” Wynonna asked, raising her voice shakily as if she hadn’t used it all year (which wouldn’t be much of an over exaggeration). “I have done nothing this past year but try to find her.”

“And whose fault is it that she’s there in the first place?” Nicole hissed and took another swig of the bottle.

The brunette felt like she couldn’t breathe. It was the first time Nicole had actually said it. And even know that was exactly what Wynonna thought as well, it hurt that much more coming from Nicole.

“I wish it could have been me,” Wynonna confessed in a whisper. “I wish it was me in the garden. I wish Waverly was here in your arms and making you happy. I would do anything, _anything,_ for her to be here. So believe me, Haught. I know it’s my fault. Yell at me all you want, if it makes you feel better. But don’t yell at Jeremy and Robin. They have done nothing but try to help. You can’t blame them for wanting to get out of this hell of a town. For wanting to live their lives.”

Nicole stared at the brunette and knew that she was being sincere. She couldn’t believe how much sense Wynonna made. She couldn’t believe how right the ex-Heir was.

The anger vanished from Nicole’s body and shame replaced it. “She would be so ashamed of me if she saw me treat you like this. Look at me, Earp. I’m drinking myself to death, I’m failing at my job, I’m hurting my friends, and I’m blaming you.”

“It’s okay,” Wynonna told her as she sat down next to the woman (she almost even put her hand on Nicole comfortingly until she chickened out). “It’s okay, Nicole. It’s not like I’ve been any better. I’ve turned everything off. Because I know that if I turned everything on, I’d tear myself apart. I’d drown in all the emotions. And me being like that, I wouldn’t be able to find Waves let alone breathe.”

The brunette took the bottle away from Nicole and for the first time, took a sip of alcohol. She even laughed at the absurdity of the moment.

“Can you imagine what she would say if she were here?” Wynonna asked. “She’d yell at us, flailing her arms around, and tell us that we were being idiots. That we need to help each other. Because we’re stupid. And handling things the wrong way. And she’d push us together, make us bond, and give us a giant hug.”

Nicole nodded and let out a harsh chuckle as hot tears slid down her cheeks. “She’d give us both a kiss on the cheek or forehead, make us tea, and make us promise to each other that we would stop fighting like three-year-olds.”

“And I’d give you some lame-ass apology, grumble about it, and offer you alcohol as if that would ever make up for what I have said.”

A smile almost grew from her lips and the redhead added, “And I’d accept your apology by saying that I was taking the high road and I was a better person. I’d accept the alcohol and we’d probably get drunk and tell each other horror stories about high school.”

“And then we’d go to bed, wake up, and fight about something else in the morning. But it would be a light banter. Because that’s who we are.”

Nicole shook her head and took the bottle from Wynonna. “No, Earp. That’s who we _were_ with Waverly. I’m not-- I don’t know how to be that person anymore. I’m just so angry all the time. I don’t know how to be anything else.”

The brunette bumped the redhead’s shoulder lightly and told her, “You sound like an angsty teen going through puberty.”

Haught laughed shakily and replied, “Thanks, Earp.” Her smile faltered and she then murmured, “I’m sorry. I’ve been… I’ve been awful. To everyone, but to you especially. I know it’s not your fault. I just-- I wanted something to blame.”

“Hey, it’s not like I’ve been the easiest person to talk to,” Wynonna reminded her almost gently. “I’ve been so cut off, I don’t even remember the last time I felt anything. I’ve been so dissociated from myself, I even pretended like I’m not even me. Like nothing is even real. You don’t have to apologize to me, Haught-stuff.”

They were silent for a few minutes. But it wasn’t awkward. Both of them were deep inside their own thoughts.

“We’re never going to get her back, are we?” Nicole asked her, tears falling down her cheeks. She stared at the brunette, who turned to look at her, surprised by the question.

Wynonna grabbed Nicole’s hand and squeezed it. “We are, Nicole. We are going to get her back. Because you deserve to have a long life with your soulmate. And I deserve to have my sister. And Alice… she deserves to have her Auntie Waverly.”

Nicole stared at Wynonna as she came to a harsh realization. “I didn’t think about Alice. I didn’t-- you must want her back.”

“I've been waiting,” Wynonna stated simply. "For her father to come home. For Waverly.”

The Deputy nodded, understanding what she meant. “I get that, Wynonna. But you need her. And maybe… maybe I do too. Maybe she can help us get back to who we really are. And that doesn’t mean we’ll stop looking for them. We can take turns. One of us will look after Alice and the other will be looking for them. We can do this together, Earp. It’s what they would want us to do.”

* * *

And that’s what they did. After Nicole apologized profusely to Jerebin (Jeremy and Robin), she and Wynonna explained to the couple that they were going to leave Purgatory as well. To get Alice back and bring her home.

They decided to leave altogether so that Nicole and Wynonna could help the couple with their move. The women were going to drop the couple off along the way. It was the least they could do, really.

Nicole worked on her anger (and drinking) as Wynonna learned to deal with all her feelings. They actually spoke to each other about what they were feeling. Though they wouldn’t admit it to one another, they made each other feel better.

Their light banter (and childish arguments) continued as they tried to baby proof the Homestead. But neither of them yelled. They just enjoyed each other’s company and talked about Alice and how happy they both were to bring her home.

Unsurprisingly, Jeremy and Robin’s ‘last night’ turned out to not be their last. Maybe it was Alice coming home. Maybe it was Wynonna and Nicole becoming the people they used to be. Maybe it was the occasional laughs the team spent as they tried to pack up Jerebin’s stuff. Maybe it was all of the above which caused Jeremy and Robin to declare they were staying in Purgatory. None of them really dwelled on the reason. They were just happy that the couple wasn’t leaving.

The group of four decided to go on a road trip to Gus’ place (each one of them excited to see baby Earp). The car ride was long, crazy, and full of worry. The anxiety was overwhelming, but the four of them balanced each other out when emotions almost became out of hand. It didn’t matter much anyway. When they arrived at Gus’ house, the torment of the road trip seemed worth it.

Nicole, Jeremy, and Robin stayed in the car when they got there. Wynonna told them that she needed some time with her daughter (and time to tell Gus what happened to her other niece).

Wynonna knocked on the door (with her whole body shaking) and it opened for her to be tackled by a hug from her aunt.

“Oh, Wynonna! I knew you could end it!” The woman cried out as she squeezed her niece. She pulled away from the brunette and gave the woman a look over. “Alice is so excited to see her mother and where is that sister of yours? I was sure that she’d come as well.”

The brunette bit her lip and replied, “Can I come inside?”

Concerned, Gus nodded and let Wynonna into the house. When the door closed, Wynonna caught sight of the one-and-a-half-year-old hiding behind a chair in the living room.

“Alice, come here darling,” Gus called out. “This is your mom that I have been telling you about.”

Alice slowly walked toward Wynonna, who (with tears falling) crouched down and opened her arms wide so that she can hold her daughter. Alice’s little legs started running and she ran into her mother’s arms.

Wynonna held her close and started to sob. She breathed in her daughter’s scent and felt an amount of joy she couldn’t even comprehend.

“Baby girl, I’ve missed you so so much. I love you so much,” Wynonna muttered into her daughter’s ear. “I’m bringing you home, little girl. Where you are so loved. So loved, Alice Michelle Earp.”

When they pulled apart from each other, Alice wiped away her mother’s tears.

“I love too, Mama,” Alice mumbled in toddler speak.

“I told Alice about you every day, didn’t I?” Gus said as she smiled at the sight of the reunion of mother and daughter. “Alice has been so excited to go home to you, Wynonna.”

“Me too, baby girl. The others are so excited to meet you as well. You have a big family who loves you so much, Alice Michelle.” Wynonna told her as she sat down and put the young girl on her lap.

Gus came to a realization and asked her niece, “Wynonna, is Waverly alive?”

Wynonna stared at her daughter as Alice traced her mother’s face (memorizing every feature) with her small fingers. Wynonna didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know how to explain what has happened.

“A year ago, Waverly and Doc were taken into this other… realm. We haven’t been able… we haven’t been able to find them. But the curse is over. And… I needed my daughter home. I’ll get her back, Gus. I’ll get them both back.”

Gus shed a few tears but nodded. If Wynonna said she would get them back, the woman believed she would.

Wynonna grabbed the three others to join her inside and meet their niece, Alice Michelle Earp. The young girl was already taken by her aunt and uncles.

Gus spent the next few hours giving Wynonna all of Alice’s things and pictures (and tried to fill in the brunette of the past year and a half). The goodbyes were tough. Alice was happy to be with her big family, but she was going to miss Gus. Wynonna told her aunt to come back to Purgatory whenever she wanted. She told her that someone needed to run Shorty’s until Doc came back. Gus nodded and hugged her niece (and whispered in her ear about how proud she was of her).

And then they drove back and they were all somehow even happier than when they drove there. They sang songs and laughed every time they heard Alice try to sing along.

Alice loved the Homestead and the room that she shared with her mom. She loved her family. She loved her mom. She loved everything. There was a new happiness in the Homestead that hadn’t been there for a long time. And as much as they missed Waverly and Doc, Alice seemed to fill parts of that gaping hole.

After Jeremy and Robin left for the night, Alice fell asleep between Nicole and Wynonna on the couch. The two women stared at the innocent girl and shared many warm looks.

“I want you to stay here, Nicole,” Wynonna whispered to her friend. “I mean, officially. I want you to move in. She’s going to need the both of us. And I-- I want you here.”

Nicole grabbed Wynonna’s hand and told her, “And I want to be here. This is where I belong.”


	2. Things change (could it be for the better?)

After weeks of trials and errors, a steady routine was created. Wynonna and Nicole took turns taking care of Alice, looking for Waverly and Doc, and keeping Purgatory safe. When kicking demon ass, Robin was the go-to babysitter. It didn’t take long for Alice to love her weird family.

Wynonna and Nicole kept each other balanced. They didn’t mean to, necessarily, but they co-parented Alice. Nicole took the responsibility as another parent, and Wynonna couldn’t be more grateful. Their friendship grew as parents. While they still fought, they had mutual understanding and love there.

The four of the adults with Alice (and occasionally with the addition of Nedley and even Mercedes) ate dinner together almost every night. Family nights were Alice’s favorites because she got to see her favorite people laugh and smile.

But Alice did notice that sometimes her family was sad, even though they tried their hardest not to let Alice see their pain. When she saw them look unhappy, she tried to do something funny so that they felt better. It worked, most of the time.

Weeks passed. Months passed. Alice grew. And things continuously got better. Until the holiday season. Alice was a smart kid. She knew that Nicole and her Mama were sad during the holidays. She asked them what was wrong, and they both gave her a big hug and told her that they were missing people.

Christmas was a happy day, however. Alice and her four favorite people opened presents all morning and ate a lot of cookies. The day was incredibly special, and one that none of them would ever forget.

More months passed and something happened. The amount of time spent researching and looking for Waverly and Doc decreased. Taking care of Alice and having jobs took up most of their time. Wynonna and Nicole felt guilty and they had long conversations discussing what they were going to do. They decided to only look for their loved ones on the weekends when they weren’t swamped with things they had to do. It was a hard decision to make, but they both agreed that they couldn’t waste time that they could be loving Alice, looking for Waverly and Doc. The decision made the women more depressed in the following weeks and months. Especially for Nicole.

Wynonna almost woke up every night from the sound of the front door being open and shut. She knew Nicole wasn’t sleeping and went outside to think about Waverly.

On an especially cold night, Wynonna got up from her warm bed and went outside to find Nicole shivering on the porch.

“Haught… come back inside,” Wynonna whispered as she wrapped a blanket around the redhead.

Nicole wiped the tears that fell. “I hate sleeping alone.”

“Then don’t.”

The words were so simple but meant so much to the now reinstated Sheriff. Nicole followed Wynonna back inside and to the brunette’s room. She felt weird crawling into Wynonna’s bed, but the worried feelings soon washed away when she felt warm arms wrap around her waist. Even though these were not the arms she had hoped would hold her at night, Wynonna was her best friend. And in her arms, she felt loved and safe. 

* * *

It was a slip of the tongue when Alice first called Nicole ‘daddy’ when she was four. She turned red when she saw the stunned expression of Nicole and heard the burst of laughter come out of her mother. Alice even tried to apologize for the mistake, but Nicole and her mom wouldn’t let her.

“It’s okay, Alice,” Nicole promised the young girl before giving her a tight hug. “You can call me that if you want.”

“Yeah, baby girl!” Wynonna agreed happily as she joined in on the hug with her two favorite people. “Please keep calling Auntie Nicky ‘Dad.’ She’s your other parent anyway.”

The look Nicole gave her made Wynonna’s heart melt.

And so it began. It started as a joke to make her mom and aunt laugh, but it ended up being what she called her. Auntie Nicky turned into ‘Dad’ (and sometimes ‘daddy’ when she wanted something from the redhead). It confused a lot of people around town (especially Alice’s teachers). Nicole and Wynonna had to correct a lot of people who thought that they were a couple. It became hard to explain that they were best friends raising a daughter, so they ended up stopping. It didn’t matter much to them anyway. They didn’t care about what others thought.

Their weird family continuously got weirder (and bigger). Jeremy and Robin adopted a little one of their own. It didn’t seem like it was a coincidence that the toddler that joined their family had the name of Henry. Wynonna cried when Jeremy told her that they were bringing home a son that had the same name as Doc. Henry Jett-Chetri was a beautiful kid who loved the attention of his big family. However, Henry’s favorite admirer was his cousin, Alice, who suddenly became very protective of the two-year-old.

Alice was almost five when she asked about these people in a photograph on a bookshelf. She didn’t understand the look that her mom and dad gave each other. But she was happy when they sat her down and decided to explain it to her.

Wynonna told her daughter all about a man named Xavier Dolls and how much he meant to her. She explained how he turned her life around and how he brought the family together. She told her how much of a badass he was and how he died saving their lives. She said that he was still in her heart and thought about him every day.

“Did you love him, Mama?” Alice asked her.

Wynonna cursed how intuitive her daughter already was. “Yeah, baby girl. I loved him very much. And see that other guy in the picture? With the crazy mustache? That’s Doc. He and Dolls were best friends, whether they knew it or not.”

Alice stared at the face of Doc and felt a twinge of familiarity.

“He’s your father, Alice,” Wynonna whispered as she brushed the girl’s hair back. When Alice turned to stare at her mother with confusion, Wynonna added, “You know how Henry has biological parents that aren’t Uncle Jeremy and Uncle Robin?” At Alice’s nod, she continued, “Well, your biological father is that man right there. And he loved you very much, Alice.”

“Where is he?” The young girl asked.

Wynonna let out a breath of air. She looked at Nicole once the redhead squeezed the brunette’s hand, giving her the support she needed.

“He’s a little lost, baby girl. Your dad and I don’t know where he is. We’ve been trying to find him for years, but we haven’t been able to. But he’s with that woman right there. He left to save her.”

Alice traced her small fingers over the woman with the big smile. She looked up and saw her dad silently crying.

“That’s your mama’s sister, Waverly,” Nicole explained gently. “And she’s the love of my life, Alice. Your mom and I, we love Waverly so much. And she loves you, too.”

Alice thought about this and felt a little angry. She couldn’t understand why these people weren’t here. She didn’t understand why her mama and daddy couldn’t have their people that they loved.

“When are they gonna come back?” Alice asked them fiercely.

Nicole and Wynonna gave each other another look. They wanted to tell their daughter that it would be soon. That her aunt and father could walk through the front door any time now. But they knew that it was now improbable. But they hadn’t lost hope. They would never lose hope that their family would find their way back home.

“We aren’t sure, baby girl,” Wynonna answered and kissed her daughter’s forehead.

Alice could tell how sad they were, so she hugged her parents and promised them, “They are going to come home.”

* * *

The demons stopped coming (they realized they were no match for Wynonna Earp and her team) and everyone was grateful. Everyone had their hands full without the supernatural baddies in their town. Citizens of the town were wary when Nicole officially hired Wynonna as a Deputy under Purgatory’s Sheriff Department (not BBD). But their worry vanished when they realized that Wynonna was actually _damn good_ at her job _._

Jeremy became the department’s first forensic analyst (and most of his time was spent testing drugs and other gross things that helped solve crimes). The three of them worked extremely well together and Purgatory really started feeling like an actually safe town. When they weren’t slammed with work, they occasionally searched the woods for their missing family.  

Robin played full-time babysitter (not that he minded, he had time to write books) when Alice and Henry weren’t in school. He taught the kids to love Jazz (and he is more than thrilled that he has people he can listen to it with).

There were bouts of sadness. Sometimes Wynonna and Nicole would bring Alice over to her Uncles’ house and get drunk and cry (on anniversaries, birthdays, etc…). But they refused to let Alice see them at their worst. They wanted to be happy, supportive parents that neither of them got to have.

But that aside, things were _good._ Safe. Healthy. Right. 

* * *

 It was movie night (like every other Friday) when the family that was snuggled up on the couch heard a knock on their front door.

Groaning, Wynonna got up and called out, “Mercedes, you know you can come right--”

She stopped talking. Because when she opened the door, it wasn’t Mercedes.

In front of Wynonna was her sister, Doc, and Dolls. They looked dirty (like they hadn’t showered in weeks). They looked older. Tougher. Like they just got out of a war.

“Wyn, who is at the door? Come back!” Nicole called out from inside the house.

The brunette stared at the group of people in front of her with disbelief. She was sure she was hallucinating. Sure she was… she wasn’t sure of anything.

Waverly reached out and tried to say, “Wyno--”

“Nicole!” Wynonna choked out as she flinched away, keeping her eyes directly on the three people. “Come out here!”

“Nicole? This must be serious if you aren’t calling me ‘Haught Daddy--‘” Nicole stopped talking the second she saw what Wynonna saw.

“Do you see them, too?” Wynonna whispered shakily.

“Yes,” Nicole replied. She reached out for Waverly (who started crying) and they fell into each other’s arms.

Wynonna watched the interaction without knowing what to do. She had been waiting for this moment for so long. But six years later, she never thought it actually would come. She never thought…

A sob tore out of Wynonna’s body and she latched herself around her sister and her best friend. Waverly felt cold in her arms, but she felt familiar. Real. Like her sister. Like nothing had changed. Except, everything had.

Wynonna let go of the couple (and let them explore each other’s eyes and faces for a while) and then turned to Doc, who laughed in her arms when she kissed his cheek. _Doc._ John Henry Holliday. The father of her child.

“Thank you,” She whispered in the man’s ear. She wasn’t sure if he was the one who got them out of there. But they were home. And she knew that was a least partly due to him.

She then turned to Dolls. A man that was supposed to be dead. A man she loved (more than _almost_ anything).

“How?” She asked him.

Dolls shrugged (in a very Dolls like fashion) and answered, “They found me. I’ve been trying to get home to you for so long, Wynonna. I’ve been gone for so long.”

Wynonna almost jumped on top of him. He hugged her tighter than no one else before. They couldn’t believe they were in each other’s arms again.

“Mama?” A voice called out from behind all of them. The brunette turned around to look at her daughter (who looked confused, and possibly scared?).

Wynonna walked over to her daughter and picked her up (even though Alice was too old for it). The mother saw the reactions of the three adults who had just come home. They all shared the same look at the young girl. A look of so much love.

“Alice, baby. This is your family. They’re finally home.”

“Just like you said, Mama!” Alice cheered happily (showing her family her dimples that were becoming more pronounced).

“Yes, baby girl. Just like I said,” Wynonna agreed and kissed her daughter’s forehead.

Waverly walked over to her niece and waved. “Hey, Alice,” She almost cooed playfully. “I’m--”

“Auntie Waverly!” Alice interrupted and got down from her mother’s arms so that she could give her aunt a huge hug. “Mama and daddy missed you so much!”

“Daddy?” Doc asked from behind the hug.

“That’s me,” Nicole whispered sheepishly (as her face became all red). “Alice calls me dad.” She turned and saw Waverly stare at her with awe.

Alice walked over to Doc and looked up at the big man with great curiosity. From farther away, he looked a little scary. But closer up, she could tell that he wasn’t scary at all. He was her father, after all. Not that she really knew what that meant for their relationship. She already had a 'dad,' anyway.

“Hello, little girl,” Doc said softly like he was afraid of frightening the young girl. “I’m your-- I’m Doc.”

Alice let out a short laugh, finding his ‘accent’ amusing. She wrapped her small little arms around her father’s waist. “Doc! John Henry Holliday! You have the same name as my cousin!”

“Your cous--”

“Doc,” Jeremy muttered as he held his son in his arms (and Robin gripped his shoulder supportively). He then turned to look at the two others. “Waverly… Dolls… You’re all here…” He passed his son to Robin and hugged his three friends (who he thought he lost forever).

“And that’s…” Doc started saying and pointed to the toddler playing with Robin’s hair. “That’s your son?”

Jeremy nodded and replied, “Henry. Henry Jett-Chetri. Our son. We thought… how are you all here?”

“Let’s get inside,” Robin told the group of people.

Everyone gathered inside the house and stared at one another. Things had certainly changed. For everyone and everything.

“It was only a couple days for us. Maybe a week at the most,” Waverly started to explain once people had sat down. “Doc and I, we tried to find ways out but it was difficult. There were all these tests and I don’t know. We were both confused half the time. And then, and then we found Dolls. And everything became easier.”

“I’m not sure how exactly we got out,” Dolls added carefully. “One second we were… there. And another we were in the woods. And now we’re home. How long has it been for you?”

Wynonna wiped away her tears and held her daughter tighter as she sat on her mother’s lap and watched everyone carefully.

“Six years,” Wynonna confessed. “It’s been six--” She couldn’t continue. It was all so… overwhelming and hard.

“The Earp curse?” Dolls asked, changing the subject tactfully.

“Over,” Wynonna stated darkly. “No more Revenants. Practically no more demons. In fact, I’m just a Deputy now.”

Dolls’ lips formed into a smile and he replied, “A cop, Earp?”

“Well, I am responsible now,” Wynonna replied and smiled at her old boss (and possible lover).

Everyone tried to laugh, but it was hard. Everyone had gone through some shit. Everyone knew nothing would ever be the same as it was.

“And for that,” Wynonna added. “You can blame my boss. Sheriff Haught Sauce. She’s turned everything around for--”

“Be serious, Wynonna. You helped me. She did this all on her own. She-- she helped me out of some really dark times.”

Jeremy argued, “You both helped each other. A lot has happened in these past years. But none of us have left. We’ve all stayed together. We’ve all… we never gave up.”

There wasn’t really much left to say. Of course, many things had to be said in the future. Life was different now in Purgatory. Everyone had their own routine. Everyone got used to life without the three of them. But all those little details, well, they were just details. Because in the end, they were home. _Home._

* * *

 Nicole and Wynonna had a lot of awkward moments together having to explain their close relationship. The Sheriff was used to sleeping with Wynonna (not in a sexual way, of course). So the night that the three of them got home, Nicole snuck up into Wynonna’s room because they were just used to being with each other. Of course, Nicole wanted to hold Waverly (and touch and kiss and love her), but things were just odd at the moment. It was harder for Nicole than it was for Waverly. Nicole had gone years without the love of her life (instead of a week).

When the two women woke up, they found everyone else awake downstairs and staring up at them like they needed to explain themselves.

“Are you guys, um, together?” Waverly asked them quickly (as if she didn’t want to know the answer herself). Before she gave them a chance to answer, she rambled, “It’s okay if you are. I know a lot of time has passed and you two have gotten very close. And I’m sure you both have been very lonely and--”

“Waverly!” Nicole interrupted with an abrupt yell. “Wynonna and I aren’t together. At all romantically. We are just… she’s my best friend. My rock. We’ve raised Alice together for five years. We shared a bed, but no funny business happened or anything.”

“She’s Alice’s other parent,” Wynonna added, smiling at the redhead. “When Alice started calling her ‘dad,’ it began as a joke. But it really isn’t. I mean, most people in this town think that we’re together… but we aren’t. She’s just my--”

“Platonic soulmate!” Jeremy interrupted perkily. “They’re so cute!”

Wynonna and Nicole shared an eye roll and wordless moment but laughed along with their friends. Yeah, maybe things could be okay. 

* * *

The people of Purgatory were confused as hell. But they were happy that Shorty’s was opening up again. More alcohol the better.

Alice started getting used to the additions to her family. Auntie Waverly made her smile a lot. She was just a warm person to be around. She immediately noticed how much happier her mother’s sister made her parents. Besides, she got the best stories about her Mama and Daddy from the younger Earp sibling.

Doc made her laugh all the time. A few days after they had come home, she asked if it was alright if she just called him Doc (and told him that she already had a person she called dad). He chuckled, ruffled her hair, and kissed her cheek (tickling her with his mustache, her favorite).

Alice could see behind Dolls’ unemotional glares (and really knew he was a big ole softy). She could tell how happy her mom made him (and vice verses). She enjoyed watching the mysterious man. He was sometimes a little awkward around the little girl, but she didn’t mind. No, he made her mom smile and laugh and blush. She liked him very much.

The interactions between WayHaught started slow. Small touches, hugs (a lot of them), and long conversations (where Nicole admitted how awful she had been when Waverly had first gone away). It was almost as if they had begun dating again (which neither of them minded). Waverly was arguably a little jealous when Nicole went to Wynonna’s room almost every night. But she soon realized that it was a good thing since they kept each other stable when she was gone.

But then hugs turned into cuddles. Conversations turned into flirtations. And touches turned into kisses. Eventually, the nights where Nicole went to Wynonna’s room decreased until she never went to the woman's room. And Waverly and Nicole were back to being cheesy lovers that everyone was jealous of.

There was so much love at the Homestead. A lot had changed. But now, things were changing for the better. 

* * *

Alice was twelve and thriving. Stubborn, witty, freakishly intelligent, witty, fierce, and kind. She was a mix of all her family. Her bond with her mother was unwavering. It had only continued to grow and mature. Just like her relationship with her dad, who she never stopped calling Nicole ‘dad’ (even as she had her own children with her Aunt Waverly). Despite how things had changed, Nicole would always be the other woman who raised her. Always.

Jeremy and Robin continued being the best Uncles that Alice could ever ask for. Henry was her best friend and partner in crime (and she enjoyed loving her other Jett-Chetri cousins that kept on coming).

Doc had always remained ‘Doc’ to her. Her father spoiled her like nobody’s business. There was no denying how much love existed between father and daughter. They took a lot of trips together (where Doc would end up telling his daughter to ‘not tell her mother about this’).

Auntie Waverly was the shoulder Alice could always cry on. Alice was afraid that her parents (Wynonna and Nicole) wouldn’t understand the things that the girl went through. She always thought that she wasn’t as tough as them. But Auntie Waves was always there for her to talk to (even though she had her hands full with her own twin sons).

Alice was protective of all her cousins (all five of them), but that couldn’t even compare to how much she cared for her sister, Eliza.

When her mom asked her if she was okay with her dating Xavier Dolls, Alice laughed. She thought that her mom was already with him. Only a year later, Dolls asked Alice for permission to ask her mom to marry him. Alice hugged Dolls, kissed his cheek, and told him yes. Nothing would make her happier than her mom marrying ‘Agent Dad’ (which also started as a joke but became the name she always called him).

They got married soon after WayHaught did. And the news of the baby came only months after that. Eliza was a very loud baby (and stole a lot of the attention), but boy did Alice love the little girl.

Things settled down. The families relaxed and lived life dealing with normal problems. Like who would do the dishes and feed the cat (only sometimes demons had to be killed). But even Alice couldn’t deny she had a strange family. But she wouldn’t want it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This series is finished, so please read the rest of them. They follow this timeline. 
> 
> Review if you can! Or contact me on tumblr @haught-n-cold-gay or Twitter @haught_n_cold

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Please review if you can! If you liked this, go read my other one-shots. They're pretty cool.
> 
> Ooh, and if you have any other comments or if you have any suggestions/requests, you can message me in tumblr @haught-n-cold-gay
> 
> I'd love to hear from you!


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